Research

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Breaking the Culture of Sexual Assault

Communication About Social Problems

Do we judge social problems such as sexual assault, sexual harassment, and police violence differently depending on how they are communicated to us? This project seeks to answer this question through a series of experiments that vary the order in which information about the problem is presented and the response to the problem given by a community leader. This study will allow us to better understand how to communicate social problems to generate community interest in solving the problems.

Sexual Harassment in Tech Workplaces

While many Silicon Valley companies focus on implicit bias as a driver of gender-unequal employment outcomes, this focus leaves out another factor which holds women back in the tech industry: sexual harassment. Previous research has found that the majority of women in tech have experienced sexual harassment, yet we have very little details about these experiences. To address this gap in knowledge, this project seeks to interview women in the Bay Area tech industry about their experiences of sexual harassment and their views on sexual behavior in tech workplaces in general. Ultimately, this research seeks to not only to shed light on how and why sexual harassment in the tech industry occurs, but also to develop solutions that can proactively prevent its occurrence in the future. This would allow women in tech unfettered access to the jobs offered in the tech industry, a necessary step toward advancing gender equality in today’s world.

Learn more about symposium events and speakers, including Kimberlé Crenshaw and Zerlina Maxwell